Cayman for 30k miles a year?

[ReaperCushions]

Looking at a possible upgrade from my current motor (wafty Passat CC) as quite frankly... I'm bored to tears.

I do 30k miles a year, mostly business, and my personal fuel is paid for.

Are these a good enough compromise between fun an comfort? Will I be getting sick of the ride quality / crampt space or are these not an issue?

I am also tempted by a 997 c2 as a slightly bigger option, but running costs put me off (are they that different?) and I'd be getting an older model for my money.

Any thoughts? Anyone do high miles in a porker? Am I mad and should keep the CC?

[giltranator]

I am in the fortunate position of having use of a cc for my longer journeys often 100 miles a day an although it is good on the mway, i often take my own car (boxster s 986) as it is so much more fun to drive on the motorways. I would definately go for the cayman as it gives you added secuirty of a hard top whilst having two boots. I got 400 miles out of a tank of fuel in the boxster doing motorway driving giving me 32mpg. The cc does 56mpg and gets at least 700 miles out of a tank but id take the boxster everytime as it makes most of my journeys an event and also keeps me smiling in the process.

[molar explorer]

I drove my cayman s over 50,000 miles in the 2 years I owned it. Great car to drive, good economy for a sports car and a great big smile on even the most boring journey. However , if you're tall ( I'm 6"3') it will almost certainly not be the most comfortable everyday drive for long distances and I won't even mention the running cost/ depreciation incurred! I replaced it with a 911 c2 and found it a more comfortable car over long distances .

[khushy]

do.it!

[ReaperCushions]

Thanks chaps, most helpful.

The CC is pretty much everything I want from a motorway cruiser (auto, heated electric leather, cruise etc..) but it's simply boring. I also have an mx5 in the garage for the weekends. But increasing finding less and less time to use it.

My thought is to combine a comfortable cruiser with that sporty edge to keep me satisfied.

A 'GT' is I guess where that compromise sits. Jag XK? 6 series? 911? All possible, but I feel I get more for my money with a Cayman.... But is it practical!?!

[RudeDog]

I do 25K a year in my Cayman S and its absolutely fine for it. I find the standard seats very comfortable for long journeys and you can move it around in lots of different ways to get the fit just as you like it.

Economy is OK for a sports car (I average about 26mpg) and I managed to get 25K out of one set of tyres too so the expected running costs are acceptable. I think I have been slightly unfortunate with a few bits of maintenance that have been needed, its cost me about £4K in maintenance (excluding servicing) in the last 18 months but over all I'm very pleased with it and have no plans to sell in the foreseeable future.

[Durzel]

It's perfectly practical, relatively speaking. It isn't a natural motorway mile muncher so comfort, MPG, practicality (space) are in keeping with its core design principals.

[Actus Reus]

I'd certainly consider 18" rims and/or PASM for that sort of mileage. Otherwise it'll do it and make each journey a bit more of an event. PDK would be nice too as that clutch gets heavy after an hour or two in a queue.

[khooni]

even better in a regular gen 2 cayman

[Rockster]

ReaperCushions said:

Looking at a possible upgrade from my current motor (wafty Passat CC) as quite frankly... I'm bored to tears.

I do 30k miles a year, mostly business, and my personal fuel is paid for.

Are these a good enough compromise between fun an comfort? Will I be getting sick of the ride quality / crampt space or are these not an issue?

I am also tempted by a 997 c2 as a slightly bigger option, but running costs put me off (are they that different?) and I'd be getting an older model for my money.

Any thoughts? Anyone do high miles in a porker? Am I mad and should keep the CC?

Had my 08 Cayman S too brief a time to know how it would fare in say 30K miles per year. My 02 Boxster though has done rather well covering on average 25K miles per year since '02.

However, it has some shortcomings and maybe the Cayman does as well. Primarily I found my 996 Turbo offers improved visibility out of the car which since I can drive in heavy yet fast moving traffic is a major difference and a plus for the 996 over the Boxster.

Also, on long trips when I get tired but it is inconvenient for me to stop for the night with the 996 I can stop and move the seat back and recline the seat back and with a blanket and pillows make a comfortable bed to use to grab 40 winks. More than once this feature has been I'm sure a life saver.

While I have managed to catnap in the Boxster and probably could have in the Cayman the positioning is not nearly as comfortable as in the 996.

The Cayman S should have slightly cheaper running costs, though probably not hugely cheaper. For both of my cars I budget 5K mile oil/filter services and with the Boxster get over 20K miles from rear tires (17" BTW) and double that from the front tires. With the Turbo if I'm good I can get nearly the same tire life from the rears and the same from the fronts.

Really, it comes down to how you fit and feel in the Cayman over how ever many miles you will drive per day. I can cover sometimes 700+ miles in one day and in either car I get out feeling pretty fresh considering, although I get out of the Turbo feeling just a bit fresher on average. The car is a bit quieter and the better visibility out makes for a less tiring/less stressful drive.

Sincerely,

Rockster.

[96Turbo]

Personal fuel paid for?
How about a Cayenne Turbo!! or RR Supercharger?

Unrivalled comfort and bit of fun when you need it!

Alternatively I would be considering an M5...

[UVB]

My old Cayman (sadly with a dealer now) had adaptive sports seats and PASM on 19" wheels and was more comfortable than my Audi A6 on long runs.